Publications
Publications
- June 2001 (Revised June 2001)
- HBS Case Collection
Student Who Was Missing-in-Action, The
Abstract
Assistant Professor Sam Benson was about to end the class session portion of his course with only student projects remaining. Then, he received a phone call from a student, George McHenry, who had missed 11 of 20 sessions. McHenry wanted to know what he needed to do to salvage his standing in the section so that he would be given a category-III grade and not a category-IV grade and avoid review by the Academic Performance Committee (perhaps jeopardizing his chances for graduation). In his first year of teaching, Benson didn't know how to handle the situation and received conflicting advice from senior faculty colleagues. Teaching purpose: Presents an actual situation and challenges the reader to arrive at an appropriate solution. The reader will have to consider short-term and long-term consequences of the decision that is chosen, with careful consideration concerning the reader's own philosophy about the division of responsibility in the learning process and the role of punitive measures to motivate and punish.
Keywords
Motivation and Incentives; Higher Education; Decision Choices and Conditions; Learning; Education Industry
Citation
Spear, Steven J. "Student Who Was Missing-in-Action, The." Harvard Business School Case 601-182, June 2001. (Revised June 2001.)